Workington Reds' players can make the shirts their own in tonight's friendly against Gretna FC 2008, according to joint-boss Lee Andrews.

Reds will be without key players Scott Allison and Josh Calvert and joint-manager David Hewson for tonight's match against the Scottish Lowland League club at Borough Park (kick-off 7.30pm).

And Andrews believes that presents an opportunity for fringe players to stake a claim to start the first game of the season against Halesowen Town on August 12.

He said: "Obviously we're getting closer to the season now so we're looking for lads to play longer.

"People will be starting to make a claim for the shirt come that first game.

"There are three or four lads away on holiday this week so we're down on numbers but it is an opportunity for those other lads to play 70 or 80 minutes.

"A lot can happen between now and the start of the season."

A number of familiar faces will line up for tonight's opposition, who are managed by former Reds player Matt Henney, including Workington defender Sam Smith's twin brother Jake.

Andrews hopes that will add an edge to the fixture which will help build his squad's toughness ahead of competitive games.

"They'll play a young team and quite a few of the players have played for Reds in the past so they'll probably be out to prove a point," he said.

The match is Reds' first since the 3-0 loss to Carlisle United on July 12 and Andrews admitted it was a relief to squeeze in another game after Bishop Auckland pulled out of last Wednesday's scheduled friendly.

"The Bishop game being called off was a bit of a blow so it was important to fit another fixture in somewhere," he said.

"Preseason has been good, we've changed it up a bit from last season because we thought we played too many games so we've trained more this year.

"The lads are looking fit and sharp."